Cars. Motorsport. Things that go Vrrrmmm.

[Timbuk2]

(Cruise Control + Automatic = Win!).

You make this sound like its a concept thats limited in its adoption?

Over here it is.

Manual gearboxes are the norm here, not autos.

And since the roads here are so crowded, being able to use cruise control is an absolute rarity. The last time I used mine was actually in France over three years ago.

I've rented a lot of Minis and I absolutely love them. Besides the steering wheel being on the wrong side that one looks great.

I actually had an issue once where the run-flat tires came in handy. Then again it was a rental so I didn't have to deal with long-term maintenance. But still, it's a great car. If I ever buy a car for actual use (instead of my Beetle) I will probably go for a Mini.

~

I have heard that run-flats can save you from a blow-out at high speed, which can happen to standard tyres but is (supposedly) far less likely with run-flats. But I did hear that from a salesman who was trying to sell me a car shod with run-flats, so I didn't take him too seriously.

What issue did you have where they came in handy?

[Ominous Gamer]

Oh wow, I've never owned a car without cruise control, even the '90 240SX had it

[Timbuk2]

You 'Mericans have no idea how blessed you are, being able to blast out onto a highway and not see another car for miles and miles ...

The trip I did out to Montana/Wyoming two summers ago was goddamn refreshing for that.

Exactly what cruise control was made for ...

~

This is the M25, the London orbital that I have taken to and from work every work day for the last 10 years ...



Even at 6:45 in the morning I am faced with stop-start congestion like this.

[Ominous Gamer]

being able to blast out onto a highway and not see another car for miles and miles ...

Not that blessed, but we are lucky enough that everyone can cruise around at 60-70mph. No gridlock for me!

[Dreadnaught]

I have heard that run-flats can save you from a blow-out at high speed, which can happen to standard tyres but is (supposedly) far less likely with run-flats. But I did hear that from a salesman who was trying to sell me a car shod with run-flats, so I didn't take him too seriously.

What issue did you have where they came in handy?

It was more of a convenience thing -- picked up a rental Mini with ZipCar and soon after taking it I realized there was a small puncture in the tire. I was already pretty deep in Brooklyn when I realized this. I'm not sure if it was me or a previous person or just wear, but I was able to run my errand and bring the car back to the garage and report it. Had it not been for the run-flat my whole day would have ended right there in a random street in Brooklyn.

[Timbuk2]

Well that's about the first positive report on run-flats I've ever heard.

[Dreadnaught]

Granted, I'm not responsible for the costs or upkeep of the runflats so that's a whole separate story.

[Timbuk2]

Took delivery of my li'l Cooper S an hour ago, just in time for Christmas.

Been for a quick blast around the streets of Wimbledon, dodging around the chaotic xmas traffic.

The car is a goddamn hoot!

I've never experienced such torque steer! Stick it in Sport, floor it in 2nd, and you're stuck to the back of the seat as the twin-scroll turbo kicks in, the steering wheel twitches wildly with the torque steer, then the front wheels finally lose grip and the traction control takes over to stop the wheels spinning. It's fucking madness. I love it.

The way the car corners is awesome. Already I can feel total confidence going into the corner; the car will go where I point it, and I've yet to feel the understeer you normally do in a FWD car. Four wheels at the four corners gives incredible agility and grip. This is where the Cooper S has gained its reputation.

There is a fully integrated iPod connection, which I wasn't expecting as it wasn't on the advertised options list. So can play my iPod through the car using the controls on the steering wheel, and songs/playlists etc are displayed on the nav screen, which is outstanding.

~

Negatives are what I was expecting:

Car is small. Tiny. My nephews at 9 and 11 years old would feel cramped in the two back seats. But seeing as it is a rarity for me to have more than one other person in the car it's not too much of a sacrifice. Rear-seats fold down to give more storage space as the boot is predictably miniature. But you don't buy a mini expecting elbow-room and storage space.

It's a rough and unrefined ride after driving large BMWs for the last 6 years. I will be on the motorways tomorrow so will see what road noise is like at speed tomorrow, but I'm expecting there to be some noise. The stereo is uprated and top quality tho, so should be able to drown out much of the excess at motorway speeds.

I cannot easily replace the run-flats. The Cooper and the One have retro-fit space-saver kits which can be bought, but the S has two exhaust boxes and the battery under the boot, so there is no designated area to put a space-saver. My only option would be to put one just loose in the boot, which is hopeless as there wouldn't be any boot-space left ... so looks like I'm stuck with the run-flats.

~

Mostly though, I'm happy about the far cheaper financing, running and maintenance costs.

[Timbuk2]

Fun that the last post here was on taking delivery of the Cooper S, 20 months ago.

Have chucked the S back at BMW and taken on one of my dream motors, a 135i Coupé. An itch I've been wanting to scratch for quite a while now.

A 2009 registered one appeared from BMW locally that ticked all my boxes and was at a price that I couldn't refuse. Put a deposit on it instantly, and picked it up just over a week ago.








Looks, like all of Bangle's designs, are love/hate. People either think it looks fabulous, or think it looks all proportionally-wrong, with strange angles and stumpy lines. I myself have always been a Bangle fan, and like the looks of the 1er Coupé enormously.

BMW's award-winning N54 straight-six all aluminium 3.0 litre twin turbo lump up front is an absolute dream. Just can't get over the way it sounds.

Same lump as in the 335i, pre 2011. Kicks out 306 bHp.

Financing is a fraction above what I was paying on the S. Insurance is cheaper, but that's only because I now work for a general insurer, so get 50% off as a work benefit.

~

Anyone else had a change of wheels recently?

[Dreadnaught]

Kewl. Besides wanting this BMW for a while, is there anything that made you switch from the Mini?

How did it go reliability-wise for the past two years? My mom sort of wants one, but, putting aside the issue that it doesn't make financial sense, I hear they aren't easy to maintain and parts are expensive.

[Timbuk2]

Mini was a great car, and, despite issues detailed below, I enjoyed ownership. Perfect around the busy streets of London. Quick and nippy, and parking was a cinch.

Reason for the change? Well for new job I now commute by car rather than rail, so am doing a lot more driving. Main reason for having the Mini was that I didn't want to pay high tax & insurance on a car which would spend the majority of days being parked up. Now that I'm driving more I don't mind paying the higher running/owning costs on a larger motor for the better driving experience.

Other, lesser reasons are, well, being a small hatch it wasn't a great long-distance cruiser on the odd journey I would do out of town. Was road-noisy, and would get buffeted around by heavier traffic at speed; same as any small hatch.

Interior became a little tiresome. It's designed to be funky and chic, which doesn't make for the best ergonomics and usage in the long run.

All in all I started hankering for the larger and more refined motoring of the Mini's bigger brothers.

~

Reliability? Very disappointing in the example I had.

3 issues and 1 recall in the first year of ownership; tracking rod sensor failure (to do with the DSC), rear-parking sensor failure, and a wiring-loop failure on the off-side rear-light cluster, which meant a replacement cluster was needed. The recall was for a water-pump for the turbo.

EDIT: Sorry, make that 4 issues - forgot about a failure of the left indicator stalk which meant I couldn't select or change any OBC settings on the dash - new stalk needed.

At the time I handed her back, the turbo had an intermittent fault which led to it juddering and not firing on occasion with higher revs.

Parts are as expensive as any German car, no more no less really. Servicing, again, no more no less expensive than any other German car. Mine was sold with a TLC package in place which meant all servicing was covered and done for free.

In the end I was very grateful for BMW's AUC (authorised used car) 1 year warranty, which is bullet-proof, and meant I didn't have to pay for any of the above.

Minis do have a good reputation for reliability, and hold their value better than just about anything else on the road, so my own experience fell far short of that. I suspect other examples would fare rather better in reliability.

[Veldan Rath]

We leased this back in April...now that there are 4 of us...

[Timbuk2]

Hamilton crowned F1 Champion 2014, after winning in the final race; Abu Dhabi.

[Timbuk2]

It's time to replace the car again.

Trading in the 135i Coupé for a new M235i. Specced up and build-order placed last week; will roll off the production-line mid-late jan 2015.

First auto I've ever gone for too. The new ZF 8-speed 'box was too much to pass up. Quicker 0-60 than the manual 6-speed alternative, yet more economical; it actually saves enough in emissions to move the car into a lower tax bracket in the UK than the manual. This 'box features in everything from Rolls-Royces and Bentleys to Maseratis and Jaguars, and is sensational. Automotive tech has moved on vastly in the last 5-10 years.

Took one for a long test drive last week and walked away with a huge grin on my mug. Searched around and found a franchise offering a staggering 25% cheaper monthly contract than anyone else online or off the street, so jumped at it.

Roll on January.

[wiggin]

...you really like cars, don't you?

Just guessing here, of course.

[Timbuk2]

Yes.

Have for as long as I can remember.

[Timbuk2]

It's that time again.

Want a total change of scene, and am at that age where mid-life crisis beckons.

So total impracticality is the order of the day.

2 seats, mid-engine sort of impracticality.



New Porsche Cayman 718, launched last month, first orders roll off the Stuttgart production line in September.

I spent an afternoon in a dealership yesterday, and secured a build-slot in November with a downpayment on an S version.

~

Controversial amongst purists, the naturally-aspirated flat 6 found in the previous two models of the Cayman & soft-top Boxster has been replaced with a turbo-charged flat four unit in the new 718. Not a huge issue for me, I recognise that the market is heading down the path of smaller engines with forced induction to deliver greater power but with lower emissions and more frugal gas usage.

The engine note is one thing that may have given me pause however. The N/A flat six had a distinctive howl which would be lost in the move to the smaller flat four. The dealership gave me the keys to a new 718 Boxster S of which they had just taken delivery, in a bright frickin yellow colour of all things, so I took that out for an hour so I could decide for myself on the engine note, amongst other specification items. And just because I've never sat in a Porsche before let alone driven one. The note was pleasing enough. I did spec the Sports exhaust on my order though, which will up the burble and crackle.

Also gone against the grain and specced a manual box, over the PDK auto. I never quite settled with the auto in the M235i, and missed the ability to separate the powertrain from the drive with a clutch. So despite a rumoured 90% of 718 Boxster/Cayman orders going in specced with PDK auto, I've happily decided on a return to manual.

[GGT]

Ah, you're someone who LIKES to drive cars!

My neighbor has taken up racing domestic cars as his new hobby. Over the years he's given up paint balling (too much running around) and scuba diving (hauling around heavy equipment)....and now travels the US to race his souped up Cadillac against Corvettes, Cameros, Porsches, Maseratis, etc. Sounds like more fun than golfing, at least.